Training Midwives Could Save Thousands Of Lives

UN-endorsed initiative to train midwives could save hundreds
of thousands of lives

22 September 2008 – With half a
million women dying in pregnancy or childbirth every year,
the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the
International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) have launched
an initiative which could help cut mortality by about 75 per
cent by training midwives in developing countries.

“By
investing in midwives and universal access to reproductive
health, millions of lives can be saved and we can reach
Millennium Development Goal 5, to improve maternal
health,” UNFPA Executive Director Thoraya Ahmed Obaid said
in a news release today, referring to one of eight goals
that seek to slash a host of social ills by 2015. Beyond the
deaths millions more women suffer long-lasting harm due to
lack of care.

By investing in midwives and universal
access to reproductive health, millions of lives can be
saved

An additional 334,000 midwives are needed, according
to the UN World Health Organization (WHO). The UNFPA-ICM
programme will increase the number of births attended by
professional midwifery providers and develop the foundations
for a sustainable midwifery workforce in selected developing
countries.

Its focus will be on training midwives,
developing practice standards, and strengthening national
midwifery associations. It is estimated that skilled
attendance at delivery, backed up by emergency obstetric
care, could reduce the number of women dying in pregnancy
and childbirth by about 75 per cent.

Every year half a
million women die in pregnancy or childbirth and 10 to 15
million women suffer serious or long-lasting illnesses or
injuries. In addition, 3 million newborns die during the
first week of life and another 3 million are stillborn. Many
of these deaths and disabilities could be prevented if all
births were attended by midwives.

The $9-million
initiative will start in 11 of the hardest-hit countries
with the highest levels of maternal deaths and disability
and the lowest rates of births attended by skilled workers
– Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Côte d’Ivoire,
Djibouti, Ethiopia, Ghana, Madagascar, Sudan, Uganda and
Zambia. It will then expand to include 30 countries and, if
funding permits, even more.

The three-year project is
funded by the Netherlands and Sweden and will be implemented
by ICM and UNFPA offices in the selected countries.

“We
need some strong advocates who can call on governments to
invest in much needed midwives,” ICM President Bridget
Lynch said. “But we also need to work with governments to
ensure the scaling up and quality of midwifery services.
They need to take ownership.”

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